Located in the Creuse valley, in the municipality of Ahun, the castle of Chantemille, nestled in a green setting, seduces both the walker and the history lover by its rich past that goes back to the end of the 10th century.
The castle of Chantemille is listed in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments.
A little history...
The present castle was built from 1470 on a fortified site dating back to the 10th century.
At the end of the 10th century, it belonged to the knights of Chantemille and then passed through several families of knights including the "La Chapelle Taillefer", the "Le Fort des Ternes", "Pierrebuffière" and also a nephew of Gregory XI, Guillaume de Besse.
The site was used to control the passage of the Creuse.
The present building was built by Louis du Puy, seneschal of the Marche, and remained in this family for 5 generations before passing by marriage to Louis Chasteigner de La Rocheposay, governor of the Marche.
It was first sold in 1609 to the Mérigot de Sainte Feyre family, who kept it until about 1845.
Visit of the castle
The entrance is through a porte cochère, formerly equipped with a drawbridge, when ditches surrounded the castle to the west and north.
The fortified house consists of a rectangular main building flanked by two circular corner towers and a quadrangular tower with a spiral staircase.
A wing in return of square was added at the beginning of the sixteenth century leaning on a third older circular tower; a small round tower in front has a spiral staircase serving the floor.
A chapel, ruined at the end of the 16th century, rebuilt in 1618, and ruined again at the end of the 18th century, occupied the northeast corner of the esplanade.
The structures now form a terrace overlooking the Creuse River.
The stronghold of Chantemille was built in the 10th century at the same time as the nearby Abbey of Moutier d'Ahun.
Castle of Chantemille
23150 Ahun
Tel : 05 55 62 33 67
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